Sea
VIEW:22 DATA:01-04-2020
SEA in Scripture generally means the Mediterranean, when the context introduces no distinction by which the particular sea is defined, e.g. in Num_33:8, Jos_24:6 f. etc. The Great Sea is the Mediterranean (Num_34:6, Eze_47:10 etc.). The Sea of the Arabah is the Dead Sea (2Ki_14:25 etc.). The Sea of Chinnereth is the Sea of Galilee (Num_34:11 etc.). The Sea of the Philistines is the Mediterranean off the Philistine coast (Exo_23:31). Yâm Sûph, Sea of Weeds (Exo_10:19 etc.), is identical with the Red Sea of Heb_11:29, Jdt_5:12 etc., and is always so translated. The Nile, as in modern Arabic (el Bahr), is called the sea (Isa_18:2 etc.), so also the Euphrates (Isa_21:1, Jer_51:36). The sea of Jazer is a scribal error (Jer_48:32; cf. Isa_16:8). yâm, sea, Is the usual word for West; the Mediterranean forming the W. boundary of Palestine (Gen_12:6 etc.). The phrase from sea to sea (Amo_8:12 etc.) probably signified the ends of the earth. The Influence of the Babylonian myth of the conflict of the gods with the primeval sea may be traced in certain Scripture representations of the sea (Job_7:12 etc. See art. Cosmogony in Hastings DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] ). Tĕhôm (EV [Note: English Version.] deep) of Gen_1:2 etc. resembles the Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] Tiâmat. By the dismemberment of this monster the ordered world is produced (Gen_1:6). The turbulent and dangerous character of the sea is often referred to in Scripture (Psa_46:2; Psa_89:9, Isa_17:12, Jer_49:23 etc.). From the sea came up the monsters of Daniels vision (Dan_7:2 ff.); so also in the Apocalypse (Rev_13:1). If in the literature of the Hebrews there is manifest a certain horror of, and shrinking from, the sea, which seem strange to a seafaring people, we must remember that, as a nation, Israel never knew the sea; nor need we wonder if, viewed from their mountain heights, stretching vast and mysterious into the far horizons, it seemed to them the very home of storms and vague terrors. So when the Jewish seer depicts the future home of the blessed there is no more sea (Rev_21:1). Cf. Dualism, 1, Rahab, 2.
W. Ewing.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
yam.
(1) The ocean in general (Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10; Deu_30:13).
(2) The Mediterranean, with the article; "the hinder," "western," or "utmost sea" (Deu_11:24); "the sea of the Philistines," "the great sea" (Exo_23:31; Num_34:6-7).
(3) The Red Sea (Exo_15:4).
(4) Inland lakes, as the Salt or Dead Sea.
(5) The Nile flood, and the Euphrates (Isa_19:5; Jer_51:36). In Deu_28:68, "Jehovah shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships," explain, thou didst cross the sea, the waves parting before thee, in leaving Egypt; thou shalt return confined in slave ships.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Sea. The sea, yam, is used in Scripture to denote ?
1. "The gathering of the waters," "the Ocean." Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10; Gen_30:13; etc.
2. Some portion of this, as the Mediterranean Sea, called the "hinder," the "western" and the "utmost" sea, Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20 "sea of the Philistines," Exo_23:31 "the great sea," Num_36:6-7; Jos_15:47, "the sea." Gen_49:13; Psa_80:11. Also frequently of the Red Sea. Exo_15:4. See Red Sea.
3. Inland lakes termed, seas, as the Salt or Dead Sea. See Sea, The Salt.
4. Any great collection of waters, as the river Nile, Isa_19:5, and the Euphrates. Jer_51:36.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
The Hebrews gave the name of sea to all great collections of water, to great lakes or pools. Thus the sea of Galilee, or of Tiberias, or of Cinnereth, is no other than the lake of Tiberias, or Gennesareth, in Galilee. The Dead Sea, the sea of the Wilderness, the sea or the East, the sea of Sodom, the sea of Salt, or the Salt Sea, the sea of Asphaltites, or of bitumen, is no other than the lake of Sodom. The Arabians and orientals in general frequently gave the name of sea to great rivers, as the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, and others, which, by their magnitude, and by the extent of their overflowings, seemed as little seas, or great lakes. In Isa_11:15, these words particularly apply to the Nile at the Delta.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
sē (ים, yām; θάλασσα, thálassa; in Act_27:5 πέλαγος, pélagos): The Mediterranean is called ha-yām ha-gādhōl, ?the great sea? (Num_34:6; Jos_1:4; Eze_47:10, etc.); ha-yām ha-'aḥărōn, ?the hinder,? or ?western sea? (Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20; Zec_14:8); yām pelishtı̄m, ?the sea of the Philis? (Exo_23:31); the King James Version translates yām yāphō' in Ezr_3:7 by ?sea of Joppa,? perhaps rightly.
The Dead Sea is called yām hā-melaḥ, ?the Salt Sea? (Num_34:3; Deu_3:17; Jos_3:16, etc.); ha-yām ha-ḳadhmōnı̄, ?the east sea? (Eze_47:18; Joe_2:20; Zec_14:8); yām hā-‛ărābhāh,?the sea of the Arabah? (Deu_3:17; Jos_3:16; Jos_12:3; 2Ki_14:25).
The Red Sea is called yām ṣūph, literally, ?sea of weeds? (Exo_10:19; Num_14:25; Deu_1:1; Jos_2:10; Jdg_11:16; 1Ki_9:26; Neh_9:9; Psa_106:7; Jer_49:21, etc.); (ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα, eruthrá thálassa), literally, ?red sea? (The Wisdom of Solomon 19:7; Act_7:36; Heb_11:29); yām micrayim, ?the Egyptian sea? (Isa_11:15).
Yām is used of the Nile in Nah_3:8 and probably also in Isa_19:5, as in modern Arabic baḥr, ?sea,? is used of the Nile and its affluents. Yām is often used for ?west? or ?westward,? as ?look from the place where thou art,... westward? (Gen_13:14); ?western border? (Num_34:6). Yām is used for ?sea? in general (Exo_20:11); also for ?molten sea? of the temple (1Ki_7:23).
The Sea of Galilee is called kinnereth, ?Chinnereth? (Num_34:11); kinărōth, ?Chinneroth? (Jos_11:2); kinnerōth, ?Chinneroth? (1Ki_15:20); yam kinnereth, ?the sea of Chinnereth? (Num_34:11; Jos_13:27); yām kinnerōth, ?the sea of Chinneroth (Jos_12:3); (ἡ λίμνη Γεννσαρέτ, hē lı́mnē Gennēsarét), ?the lake of Gennesaret? (Luk_5:1); and (τὸ ὔδωρ Γεννησάρ, tó húdōr Gennēsár), ?the water of Gennesar? (1 Macc 11:67), from late Hebrew גּנסר, ginēṣar, or (גּניסר, genēṣar; ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας, hē thálassa tḗs Galilaı́as), ?the sea of Galilee? (Mat_4:18; Mat_15:29; Mar_1:16; Mar_7:31; Joh_6:1); (ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Τιβεριάδος, hē thálassa tḗs Tiberiádos), ?the sea of Tiberias? (Joh_21:1; compare Joh_6:1).
In Jer_48:32 we have yām ya‛zēr, ?the sea of Jazer.? Jazer is a site East of the Jordan, not satisfactorily identified (Num_21:32; Num_32:1, Num_32:3, Num_32:15; Jos_13:25; Jos_21:39; 2Sa_24:5; 1Ch_6:81; 1Ch_26:31; Isa_16:8, Isa_16:9). See SEA OF JAZER.
In midhbar yām, ?the wilderness of the sea? (Isa_21:1), there may perhaps be a reference to the Persian Gulf.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
The term 'sea' was much more in use among the Hebrews than with us, being applied by them generally to all large collections of water, as they had not a set of terms such as we employ to discriminate the different kinds.
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean, being on the west, and therefore behind a person facing the east, is called in Scripture the Hinder Sea (Deu_11:24; Joe_2:20), that is, Western Sea; and also, 'the Sea of the Philistines' (Exo_23:31), as that people possessed the largest proportion of its shore in Palestine. Being also the largest sea with which the Hebrews were acquainted, they called it by pre-eminence, 'the Great Sea' (Num_34:6-7; Jos_1:4; Jos_9:1; Eze_47:10; Eze_47:15; Eze_47:20); or simply 'the sea' (Jos_15:47).
Red Sea
The Red Sea?How this gulf of the Indian Ocean came by the name of Red Sea is not agreed. Prideaux assumes (Connection, i. 14-15) that the ancient inhabitants of the bordering countries called it Yam Edom, or, 'the Sea of Edom' (it is never so called in Scripture), as its north-eastern part washed the country possessed by the Edomites. Now Edom means red (Gen_25:30), and the Greeks, who borrowed the name from the Phoenicians, mistook it for an appellative instead of a proper name, and rendered by 'the Red Sea.' Others have conjectured that the Arabian Gulf derived its name from the coral rocks and reefs in which it abounds; but the coral of the Red Sea is white, not red. It is now in question whether the name originated from the singularly red appearance presented by some of the mountains along the western coast; or from the redness which the surface of the water sometimes assumes from its being covered to a great extent with a numberless multitude of very small mollusca.
The ancients applied the name of Erythraean Sea not only to the Arabian Gulf, but to that part of the Indian Ocean which is enclosed between the peninsulas of India and Arabia; but in modern usage the name of Red Sea is restricted to the Arabian Gulf, which enters into the land from the Indian Ocean in a westerly direction, and then, at the straits of Babel-Mandeb, turns N.N.W., maintaining that direction till it makes a near approach to the Mediterranean, from which its western arm is only separated by the isthmus of Suez. It thus separates the western coast of Arabia from the Eastern coast of the north-eastern part of Africa. It is about 1400 miles in length from Suez to the straits, and on an average 150 miles in breadth. On approaching its northern termination the gulf divides into two branches, which enclose between them the peninsula of Sinai. The western arm, which terminates a little above Suez, is far more extensive than the other, and is that which was crossed by the Israelites in their escape from Egypt. This arm, anciently called Heroopoliticus Sinus, and now the Gulf of Suez, is 190 miles long by an average breadth of 21 miles; but at one part (Birket el-Faroun) it is as wide as 32 miles. The eastern arm, which terminates at Aqabah, and bears the name of the Gulf of Aqabah, was anciently called Aelaniticus Sinus, from the port of Aelana, the Scriptural Elath, and is about 112 miles long by an average breadth of 15 miles. Towards its extremity were the ports of Elath and Eziongeber, celebrated in the history of the attempts made by the Hebrew kings to establish a maritime traffic with the East [ELATH; EZION-GEBER].
Sea of Chinnereth
The Sea of Chinnereth (Num_34:11), called in the New Testament 'the Sea of Galilee' (Mat_4:18), the 'Sea of Tiberias' (Joh_21:1), and 'the sea' or 'Lake of Gennesareth '(Mat_14:34; Mar_6:53; Luk_5:17); which last is but a variation of the Hebrew name.
This lake lies very deep, among fruitful hills and mountains, from which, in the rainy season, many rivulets descend: its shape will be seen from the map. The Jordan enters it on the north, and quits it on the south; and it is said that the river passes through it without the waters mingling. Its extent has been greatly over-rated. Dr. Robinson considers that its length, in a straight line, does not exceed eleven or twelve geographical miles, and that its breadth is from five to six miles. From numerous indications it is inferred that the bed of this lake was formed by some ancient volcanic eruption, which history has not recorded: the waters are very clear and sweet, and contain various kinds of excellent fish in great abundance. It will be remembered that several of the apostles were fishermen of this lake, and that it was also the scene of several transactions in the life of Christ: it is thus frequently mentioned in the New Testament, but very rarely in the Old. The borders of the lake were in the time of Christ well peopled, being covered with numerous towns and villages; but now they are almost desolate, and the fish and water-fowl are but little disturbed.
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, called in Scripture the Salt Sea (Gen_14:3), the Sea of the Plain, or the Arabah (Deu_4:40), and the Eastern Sea (Joe_2:20; Eze_47:18; Zec_14:8). It is not named or alluded to in the New Testament. From its history and qualities, it is the most remarkable of all the lakes of Palestine; and is supposed either to have originated in, or at least to have been greatly enlarged by, the awful event which overwhelmed the cities of the plain.
It is about thirty-nine or forty geographical miles long from north to south, and nine or ten miles wide from east to west: it lies embedded very deep between lofty cliffs on the western side, which are about 1500 feet high, and mountains on the eastern shore, the highest ridges of which are reckoned to be from 2000 to 2500 feet above the water. The water of the lake is much Salter than that of the sea. From the quantity of salt which it holds in solution it is thick and heavy, and no fish can live or marine plants grow in it. The old stories about the pestiferous qualities of the Dead Sea and its waters are mere fables or delusions; the actual appearances being the natural and obvious effects of the confined and deep situation, the intense heat, and the uncommon saltness of the waters.
On the borders of this lake is found much sulfur, in pieces as large as walnuts, and even larger. There is also a black shining stone, which will partly burn in the fire, and which then emits a bituminous smell: this is the 'stink-stone' of Burckhardt. At Jerusalem it is made into rosaries and toys, of which great quantities are sold to the pilgrims who visit the sacred places. Another remarkable production, from which, indeed, the lake takes one of its names, is the asphaltum, or bitumen. Josephus says, that 'the sea in many places sends up black masses of asphaltum, which float upon the surface, having the size and shape of headless oxen.' From recent information it appears that large masses are rarely found, and then generally only after earthquakes. The substance is doubtless produced from the bottom of the sea, in which it coagulates, and rises to the surface; or possibly the coagulation may have been ancient, and the substance adheres to the bottom until detached by earthquakes and other convulsions, when its buoyancy brings it to the surface. We know that 'the vale of Siddim' (Gen_14:10) was anciently 'full of slime-pits,' or sources of bitumen; and these, now under the water, probably supply the asphaltum which is found on such occasions.
Lake Merom
The Lake Merom is named once only in Scripture, where it is called waters of Merom (Jos_11:5; Jos_11:7). By Josephus it is called Semechonitis, and at present bears the name of Huleh: this is the uppermost and smallest of the three lakes on the Jordan. It serves as a kind of reservoir to collect the waters which form that river, and again to send them forth in a single stream. In the spring, when the waters are highest, the lake is seven miles long and three and a half broad; but in summer it becomes a mere marsh. In some parts it is sown with rice, and its reeds and rushes afford shelter to wild hogs.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Exo_14:2 (c) It may be used to represent extremely difficult problems and situations which arise in the Christian's path and are impossible to conquer unless the Lord performs a miracle.
1Ch_16:32 (b) This represents peoples, nations and tongues. GOD is comparing the great praises of the people to the roaring of the ocean. (See Psa_96:11; Psa_98:7; Rev_17:15).
Psa_80:11 (b) Here is a type which represents Israel as reaching out all her influence to gather and to give blessing for all the earth.
Isa_23:4 (a) The sea has covered the site of this city and rendered it desolate. Therefore, human activity has ceased on the site. The sea is represented as telling the world of this destruction.
Isa_43:16 (b) This represents the great difficulties and serious hindrances in life. GOD opens a path for His child to enter and pass safely through them. Since the ocean seems to typify "people," this figure may represent difficulties caused in the life by relatives or neighbors or enemies, or even officials. In all of these troubles caused by "people," our Lord makes a way of escape and deliverance.
Isa_48:18 (a) It is a figure of the many blessings and sweet benedictions which GOD gives to those who walk with Him. They keep coming and never cease.
Isa_57:20 (a) As the sea is constantly moving and is restless, throwing debris on the shore, so the ungodly live. They too exhibit in their lives the evil of their hearts. They constantly reveal to others the wickedness of their unsatisfied lives.
Lam_2:13 (a) As the ocean separates lovers who must live far apart, so GOD is separated oftentimes from His people whom He loves. (See Isa_59:2).
Nah_1:4 (c) GOD is assuring us He has power to rebuke all peoples and to restrain their fury. This picture is seen also in His power to calm the storm, the storms of life. (See also Zechariah 10:11).
Jam_1:6 (a) This is a picture of the professing Christian who is not rooted and grounded in the faith. His life is constantly in a turmoil.
Jud_1:13 (a) This symbolizes the great power and energy put forth by the enemies of GOD who rise up out of the great mass of people (the sea), and are leaders in opposing the work of GOD and the people of GOD.
Rev_13:1 (a) The word in this verse evidently refers to the great multitudes of the earth. (See Rev_17:15).
Rev_15:2 (b) The physical ocean hides all that is in its depths; but our Lord will unfold all the hidden sins and iniquities of the human heart so that nothing is hidden from His sight. It is a picture of the wrath of GOD revealing all secret sins.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
(Heb. יָם, yam; Chahl. יַמָּא, yamma; θάλασσα), as opposed to land or earth (אֶרֶצ, erets, Gen_1:10), in which all the waters of the earth are included, originated by the separation of its waters from those of the air, or the clouds (vet. 6 sq.). The sea is represented as deep (Psa_68:23; Mic_7:19; Amo_9:3; Job_38:16), wide (11:9), and mighty (Psa_104:25; Job_7:12; Lam_2:13); surrounding the earth at its utmost bounds (Deu_30:13; Psa_139:9; comp. the ancient Greek view of oceanus, ὠκέανος, Fubiger, Handb. d. alt. Geogr. i, 4); the earth, indeed, resting on the ocean (Psa_24:2). The surface (comp. βυθός, the deep, 2Co_11:25) is roused by winds (Dan_7:2; comp. Jon_1:11; Jon_1:13) into waves (גַּלִּים, Psa_65:8; Psa_107:25; Isa_66:18; κύματα, Jud_1:13; κλύδων, Jam_1:6), so that it roars and rages (Jer_6:23; Jeremiah 1, 42; Isa_5:30; Isa_57:20; Psa_96:11; 1Ch_16:32), and is only subject to God (Job_38:11; Psa_89:10). The countless inhabitants of the sea (Jam_3:7, Rev_8:8 sq.) are given to men for food (Gen_9:2 sq.),but the people of God may only eat those which are legally clean (Lev_11:9 sq.). On the coasts of the sea (Heb. samah', שָׂמָה) lie great lands; and the sand of the sea (חוֹל; Gr. ἄμμος) is proverbial for multitude (Gen_22:17; Jos_11:4; 2Sa_17:11; Job_29:18; Hos_1:10; 1Ma_11:1; Rev_20:8, etc.; Homer, Iliad, 9:885; Callim. Dish. p. 252; Ovid, Trist. 4:1, 55; Ars Am. i, 254. Comp. Pindar, Olymp. ii, 178; Calpurn. ii, 72. See also Gesen. Thesaur. p. 598 sq.).
It may be remarked that almost all the figures of speech taken from the sea in Scripture refer either to its power or its danger, and among the woes threatened in punishment of disobedience, one may be remarked as significant of the dread of the sea entertained by a non-seafaring people, the being brought back into Egypt "in ships" (Deu_28:68). The national feeling on this subject may be contrasted with that of the Greeks in reference to the sea. No mention of the tide is found in Scripture.
The above Heb. word, יָם, yam, is sometimes connected with תְּהוֹן, tehom (ἄβυσσος, abyssus, "the deep," Gen_1:2; Jon_2:5). It also means the west (Gesen. Thesaur. p. 360, 598). When used for the sea, it very often, but not always, takes the article. Other words for the sea (in the A.V. "deep") are: מְצוּלָה, metsulah, or מְצוֹלָה, metsolah (only in the plural), or צוּלָה, tsulah simply (ἄβυσσος, βάθος, abyssus, profundum); מַבּוּל, mabbul (κατακλυσμός, diluvium, "water-flood," Psa_29:10).. Smaller pools were distinguished into אֲגָם, Ogdm, a natural pool or pond (evil, 35; Psa_114:8; Isa_35:7; Isa_41:18, etc.), and בְּרֵכָה, berekah, the same as the Arabic birkeh; an artificial pool or reservoir (2Sa_2:13; 2Sa_4:12; Nah_2:9).
The following are the applications Of the term yam in Scripture:
1. The "gathering of the waters" (yammin), encore-passing the land, or what we call in a more or less deft-nite sense "the Ocean." In this sense the term is used in Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10, and elsewhere, as Deu_30:13; 1Ki_10:22; Psa_24:2; Job_26:8; Job_26:12; Job_38:8; see Homer, Iliad, 14:301, 302; Hesiod, Theog. 107, 109; and 2Pe_3:5.
2. The word is used, with the article, of some definite part of the great circumambient water, viz.:
(a.) Of the Mediterranean Sea, called the "hinder" (אַחֲרוֹן), the "western," and the "utmost" sea (Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20); "sea of the Philistines" (Exo_23:31); "the great sea" (Num_34:6-7; Jos_15:47); "the sea" (Gen_49:13; Psa_80:11; evil, 23; 1Ki_4:20, etc.). SEE MEDITERRANEAN.
(b.) Also frequently of the Red Sea (Exo_15:4; Jos_24:6), or one of its gulfs (Num_11:31; Isa_11:15), and perhaps (1Ki_10:22) the sea traversed by Solomon's fleet. SEE RED SEA.
The place "where two seas met" (τόπος διθάλασσος, Act_27:41) is explained by Conybeare and Howson as a place where the island Salmonetta, off the coast of Malta, in St. Paurs Bay, so intercepts the passage from the sea without to the bay within as to give the appearance of two seas, just as Strabo represents the appearance of the entrance from the Bosphorus into the Euxine; but it seems quite as likely that by the "place of the double sea" is meant one where two currents, caused by the intervention of the island, met and produced an eddy, which made it desirable at once to ground the ship (Conybeare and Howson, 5, 423; Strabo, ii, 124).
3. The term is also applied to the great internal lakes of Palestine, whether fresh or salt; e.g.
(a.) The Sea of Chinnereth, יַם כִּנֶּרֶת(Num_34:11), called in the New Test. "the Sea of Galilee" (Mat_4:18), the "Sea of Tiberias" (Joh_21:1), and "the sea (or lake) of Gennesareth" (Mat_14:34; Mar_6:53; Luk_5:17), which last is but a variation of the Hebrew name. SEE GALILEE, SEA OF.
(b.) The Dead Sea, called in Scripture the Salt Sea, יָם הָמֶּלַח(Gen_14:3), the Sea of the Plain, or the Arabah, יָם חָעֲרָבָה(Deu_4:40), and the Eastern Sea, הַיָּם חַקַּדְמֹנִי(Joe_2:20; Eze_47:18; Zec_14:8). It is not named or alluded to in the New Test. It is called by Josephus (War, iii, 10, 7) λίμνη Ασφαλτίτης, by which name, or in the Latin form of Lacus Asphaltites, it was known to the classical writers. SEE SALT SEA.
(c.) The Lake Merom is named once only in Scripture, where it is called
מֵי מְרוֹם, waters of Merom (Jos_11:5; Jos_11:7). By Josephus it is called Semechonitis (Σεμεχωνίτις, Ant. v, 5, 1), and at present bears the name of Huleh: this is the uppermost and smallest of the three lakes on the Jordan. SEE MEROM.
4. The term yam, like the Arabic bahr, is also applied to great rivers, as the Nile (Isa_19:5; Amo_8:8, A.V. "flood ;" Nah_3:8; Eze_32:2) and the Euphrates (Jer_51:36). See Stanley, Syr. and Pal. App. p. 533; Hackett, Illust. of Script, p. 119.
5. Finally, the great copper (נְחשֶׁת) or molten (מוּצָק) laver, which stood in the court of Solomon's Temple, is called a yam (1Ki_7:23-44; 2Ki_16:17, etc.). SEE BRAZEN SEA; SEE LAVER
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
W. Ewing.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
yam.
(1) The ocean in general (Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10; Deu_30:13).
(2) The Mediterranean, with the article; "the hinder," "western," or "utmost sea" (Deu_11:24); "the sea of the Philistines," "the great sea" (Exo_23:31; Num_34:6-7).
(3) The Red Sea (Exo_15:4).
(4) Inland lakes, as the Salt or Dead Sea.
(5) The Nile flood, and the Euphrates (Isa_19:5; Jer_51:36). In Deu_28:68, "Jehovah shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships," explain, thou didst cross the sea, the waves parting before thee, in leaving Egypt; thou shalt return confined in slave ships.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.
Sea. The sea, yam, is used in Scripture to denote ?
1. "The gathering of the waters," "the Ocean." Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10; Gen_30:13; etc.
2. Some portion of this, as the Mediterranean Sea, called the "hinder," the "western" and the "utmost" sea, Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20 "sea of the Philistines," Exo_23:31 "the great sea," Num_36:6-7; Jos_15:47, "the sea." Gen_49:13; Psa_80:11. Also frequently of the Red Sea. Exo_15:4. See Red Sea.
3. Inland lakes termed, seas, as the Salt or Dead Sea. See Sea, The Salt.
4. Any great collection of waters, as the river Nile, Isa_19:5, and the Euphrates. Jer_51:36.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
The Hebrews gave the name of sea to all great collections of water, to great lakes or pools. Thus the sea of Galilee, or of Tiberias, or of Cinnereth, is no other than the lake of Tiberias, or Gennesareth, in Galilee. The Dead Sea, the sea of the Wilderness, the sea or the East, the sea of Sodom, the sea of Salt, or the Salt Sea, the sea of Asphaltites, or of bitumen, is no other than the lake of Sodom. The Arabians and orientals in general frequently gave the name of sea to great rivers, as the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, and others, which, by their magnitude, and by the extent of their overflowings, seemed as little seas, or great lakes. In Isa_11:15, these words particularly apply to the Nile at the Delta.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
sē (ים, yām; θάλασσα, thálassa; in Act_27:5 πέλαγος, pélagos): The Mediterranean is called ha-yām ha-gādhōl, ?the great sea? (Num_34:6; Jos_1:4; Eze_47:10, etc.); ha-yām ha-'aḥărōn, ?the hinder,? or ?western sea? (Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20; Zec_14:8); yām pelishtı̄m, ?the sea of the Philis? (Exo_23:31); the King James Version translates yām yāphō' in Ezr_3:7 by ?sea of Joppa,? perhaps rightly.
The Dead Sea is called yām hā-melaḥ, ?the Salt Sea? (Num_34:3; Deu_3:17; Jos_3:16, etc.); ha-yām ha-ḳadhmōnı̄, ?the east sea? (Eze_47:18; Joe_2:20; Zec_14:8); yām hā-‛ărābhāh,?the sea of the Arabah? (Deu_3:17; Jos_3:16; Jos_12:3; 2Ki_14:25).
The Red Sea is called yām ṣūph, literally, ?sea of weeds? (Exo_10:19; Num_14:25; Deu_1:1; Jos_2:10; Jdg_11:16; 1Ki_9:26; Neh_9:9; Psa_106:7; Jer_49:21, etc.); (ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα, eruthrá thálassa), literally, ?red sea? (The Wisdom of Solomon 19:7; Act_7:36; Heb_11:29); yām micrayim, ?the Egyptian sea? (Isa_11:15).
Yām is used of the Nile in Nah_3:8 and probably also in Isa_19:5, as in modern Arabic baḥr, ?sea,? is used of the Nile and its affluents. Yām is often used for ?west? or ?westward,? as ?look from the place where thou art,... westward? (Gen_13:14); ?western border? (Num_34:6). Yām is used for ?sea? in general (Exo_20:11); also for ?molten sea? of the temple (1Ki_7:23).
The Sea of Galilee is called kinnereth, ?Chinnereth? (Num_34:11); kinărōth, ?Chinneroth? (Jos_11:2); kinnerōth, ?Chinneroth? (1Ki_15:20); yam kinnereth, ?the sea of Chinnereth? (Num_34:11; Jos_13:27); yām kinnerōth, ?the sea of Chinneroth (Jos_12:3); (ἡ λίμνη Γεννσαρέτ, hē lı́mnē Gennēsarét), ?the lake of Gennesaret? (Luk_5:1); and (τὸ ὔδωρ Γεννησάρ, tó húdōr Gennēsár), ?the water of Gennesar? (1 Macc 11:67), from late Hebrew גּנסר, ginēṣar, or (גּניסר, genēṣar; ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας, hē thálassa tḗs Galilaı́as), ?the sea of Galilee? (Mat_4:18; Mat_15:29; Mar_1:16; Mar_7:31; Joh_6:1); (ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Τιβεριάδος, hē thálassa tḗs Tiberiádos), ?the sea of Tiberias? (Joh_21:1; compare Joh_6:1).
In Jer_48:32 we have yām ya‛zēr, ?the sea of Jazer.? Jazer is a site East of the Jordan, not satisfactorily identified (Num_21:32; Num_32:1, Num_32:3, Num_32:15; Jos_13:25; Jos_21:39; 2Sa_24:5; 1Ch_6:81; 1Ch_26:31; Isa_16:8, Isa_16:9). See SEA OF JAZER.
In midhbar yām, ?the wilderness of the sea? (Isa_21:1), there may perhaps be a reference to the Persian Gulf.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
The term 'sea' was much more in use among the Hebrews than with us, being applied by them generally to all large collections of water, as they had not a set of terms such as we employ to discriminate the different kinds.
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean, being on the west, and therefore behind a person facing the east, is called in Scripture the Hinder Sea (Deu_11:24; Joe_2:20), that is, Western Sea; and also, 'the Sea of the Philistines' (Exo_23:31), as that people possessed the largest proportion of its shore in Palestine. Being also the largest sea with which the Hebrews were acquainted, they called it by pre-eminence, 'the Great Sea' (Num_34:6-7; Jos_1:4; Jos_9:1; Eze_47:10; Eze_47:15; Eze_47:20); or simply 'the sea' (Jos_15:47).
Red Sea
The Red Sea?How this gulf of the Indian Ocean came by the name of Red Sea is not agreed. Prideaux assumes (Connection, i. 14-15) that the ancient inhabitants of the bordering countries called it Yam Edom, or, 'the Sea of Edom' (it is never so called in Scripture), as its north-eastern part washed the country possessed by the Edomites. Now Edom means red (Gen_25:30), and the Greeks, who borrowed the name from the Phoenicians, mistook it for an appellative instead of a proper name, and rendered by 'the Red Sea.' Others have conjectured that the Arabian Gulf derived its name from the coral rocks and reefs in which it abounds; but the coral of the Red Sea is white, not red. It is now in question whether the name originated from the singularly red appearance presented by some of the mountains along the western coast; or from the redness which the surface of the water sometimes assumes from its being covered to a great extent with a numberless multitude of very small mollusca.
The ancients applied the name of Erythraean Sea not only to the Arabian Gulf, but to that part of the Indian Ocean which is enclosed between the peninsulas of India and Arabia; but in modern usage the name of Red Sea is restricted to the Arabian Gulf, which enters into the land from the Indian Ocean in a westerly direction, and then, at the straits of Babel-Mandeb, turns N.N.W., maintaining that direction till it makes a near approach to the Mediterranean, from which its western arm is only separated by the isthmus of Suez. It thus separates the western coast of Arabia from the Eastern coast of the north-eastern part of Africa. It is about 1400 miles in length from Suez to the straits, and on an average 150 miles in breadth. On approaching its northern termination the gulf divides into two branches, which enclose between them the peninsula of Sinai. The western arm, which terminates a little above Suez, is far more extensive than the other, and is that which was crossed by the Israelites in their escape from Egypt. This arm, anciently called Heroopoliticus Sinus, and now the Gulf of Suez, is 190 miles long by an average breadth of 21 miles; but at one part (Birket el-Faroun) it is as wide as 32 miles. The eastern arm, which terminates at Aqabah, and bears the name of the Gulf of Aqabah, was anciently called Aelaniticus Sinus, from the port of Aelana, the Scriptural Elath, and is about 112 miles long by an average breadth of 15 miles. Towards its extremity were the ports of Elath and Eziongeber, celebrated in the history of the attempts made by the Hebrew kings to establish a maritime traffic with the East [ELATH; EZION-GEBER].
Sea of Chinnereth
The Sea of Chinnereth (Num_34:11), called in the New Testament 'the Sea of Galilee' (Mat_4:18), the 'Sea of Tiberias' (Joh_21:1), and 'the sea' or 'Lake of Gennesareth '(Mat_14:34; Mar_6:53; Luk_5:17); which last is but a variation of the Hebrew name.
This lake lies very deep, among fruitful hills and mountains, from which, in the rainy season, many rivulets descend: its shape will be seen from the map. The Jordan enters it on the north, and quits it on the south; and it is said that the river passes through it without the waters mingling. Its extent has been greatly over-rated. Dr. Robinson considers that its length, in a straight line, does not exceed eleven or twelve geographical miles, and that its breadth is from five to six miles. From numerous indications it is inferred that the bed of this lake was formed by some ancient volcanic eruption, which history has not recorded: the waters are very clear and sweet, and contain various kinds of excellent fish in great abundance. It will be remembered that several of the apostles were fishermen of this lake, and that it was also the scene of several transactions in the life of Christ: it is thus frequently mentioned in the New Testament, but very rarely in the Old. The borders of the lake were in the time of Christ well peopled, being covered with numerous towns and villages; but now they are almost desolate, and the fish and water-fowl are but little disturbed.
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, called in Scripture the Salt Sea (Gen_14:3), the Sea of the Plain, or the Arabah (Deu_4:40), and the Eastern Sea (Joe_2:20; Eze_47:18; Zec_14:8). It is not named or alluded to in the New Testament. From its history and qualities, it is the most remarkable of all the lakes of Palestine; and is supposed either to have originated in, or at least to have been greatly enlarged by, the awful event which overwhelmed the cities of the plain.
It is about thirty-nine or forty geographical miles long from north to south, and nine or ten miles wide from east to west: it lies embedded very deep between lofty cliffs on the western side, which are about 1500 feet high, and mountains on the eastern shore, the highest ridges of which are reckoned to be from 2000 to 2500 feet above the water. The water of the lake is much Salter than that of the sea. From the quantity of salt which it holds in solution it is thick and heavy, and no fish can live or marine plants grow in it. The old stories about the pestiferous qualities of the Dead Sea and its waters are mere fables or delusions; the actual appearances being the natural and obvious effects of the confined and deep situation, the intense heat, and the uncommon saltness of the waters.
On the borders of this lake is found much sulfur, in pieces as large as walnuts, and even larger. There is also a black shining stone, which will partly burn in the fire, and which then emits a bituminous smell: this is the 'stink-stone' of Burckhardt. At Jerusalem it is made into rosaries and toys, of which great quantities are sold to the pilgrims who visit the sacred places. Another remarkable production, from which, indeed, the lake takes one of its names, is the asphaltum, or bitumen. Josephus says, that 'the sea in many places sends up black masses of asphaltum, which float upon the surface, having the size and shape of headless oxen.' From recent information it appears that large masses are rarely found, and then generally only after earthquakes. The substance is doubtless produced from the bottom of the sea, in which it coagulates, and rises to the surface; or possibly the coagulation may have been ancient, and the substance adheres to the bottom until detached by earthquakes and other convulsions, when its buoyancy brings it to the surface. We know that 'the vale of Siddim' (Gen_14:10) was anciently 'full of slime-pits,' or sources of bitumen; and these, now under the water, probably supply the asphaltum which is found on such occasions.
Lake Merom
The Lake Merom is named once only in Scripture, where it is called waters of Merom (Jos_11:5; Jos_11:7). By Josephus it is called Semechonitis, and at present bears the name of Huleh: this is the uppermost and smallest of the three lakes on the Jordan. It serves as a kind of reservoir to collect the waters which form that river, and again to send them forth in a single stream. In the spring, when the waters are highest, the lake is seven miles long and three and a half broad; but in summer it becomes a mere marsh. In some parts it is sown with rice, and its reeds and rushes afford shelter to wild hogs.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Exo_14:2 (c) It may be used to represent extremely difficult problems and situations which arise in the Christian's path and are impossible to conquer unless the Lord performs a miracle.
1Ch_16:32 (b) This represents peoples, nations and tongues. GOD is comparing the great praises of the people to the roaring of the ocean. (See Psa_96:11; Psa_98:7; Rev_17:15).
Psa_80:11 (b) Here is a type which represents Israel as reaching out all her influence to gather and to give blessing for all the earth.
Isa_23:4 (a) The sea has covered the site of this city and rendered it desolate. Therefore, human activity has ceased on the site. The sea is represented as telling the world of this destruction.
Isa_43:16 (b) This represents the great difficulties and serious hindrances in life. GOD opens a path for His child to enter and pass safely through them. Since the ocean seems to typify "people," this figure may represent difficulties caused in the life by relatives or neighbors or enemies, or even officials. In all of these troubles caused by "people," our Lord makes a way of escape and deliverance.
Isa_48:18 (a) It is a figure of the many blessings and sweet benedictions which GOD gives to those who walk with Him. They keep coming and never cease.
Isa_57:20 (a) As the sea is constantly moving and is restless, throwing debris on the shore, so the ungodly live. They too exhibit in their lives the evil of their hearts. They constantly reveal to others the wickedness of their unsatisfied lives.
Lam_2:13 (a) As the ocean separates lovers who must live far apart, so GOD is separated oftentimes from His people whom He loves. (See Isa_59:2).
Nah_1:4 (c) GOD is assuring us He has power to rebuke all peoples and to restrain their fury. This picture is seen also in His power to calm the storm, the storms of life. (See also Zechariah 10:11).
Jam_1:6 (a) This is a picture of the professing Christian who is not rooted and grounded in the faith. His life is constantly in a turmoil.
Jud_1:13 (a) This symbolizes the great power and energy put forth by the enemies of GOD who rise up out of the great mass of people (the sea), and are leaders in opposing the work of GOD and the people of GOD.
Rev_13:1 (a) The word in this verse evidently refers to the great multitudes of the earth. (See Rev_17:15).
Rev_15:2 (b) The physical ocean hides all that is in its depths; but our Lord will unfold all the hidden sins and iniquities of the human heart so that nothing is hidden from His sight. It is a picture of the wrath of GOD revealing all secret sins.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
(Heb. יָם, yam; Chahl. יַמָּא, yamma; θάλασσα), as opposed to land or earth (אֶרֶצ, erets, Gen_1:10), in which all the waters of the earth are included, originated by the separation of its waters from those of the air, or the clouds (vet. 6 sq.). The sea is represented as deep (Psa_68:23; Mic_7:19; Amo_9:3; Job_38:16), wide (11:9), and mighty (Psa_104:25; Job_7:12; Lam_2:13); surrounding the earth at its utmost bounds (Deu_30:13; Psa_139:9; comp. the ancient Greek view of oceanus, ὠκέανος, Fubiger, Handb. d. alt. Geogr. i, 4); the earth, indeed, resting on the ocean (Psa_24:2). The surface (comp. βυθός, the deep, 2Co_11:25) is roused by winds (Dan_7:2; comp. Jon_1:11; Jon_1:13) into waves (גַּלִּים, Psa_65:8; Psa_107:25; Isa_66:18; κύματα, Jud_1:13; κλύδων, Jam_1:6), so that it roars and rages (Jer_6:23; Jeremiah 1, 42; Isa_5:30; Isa_57:20; Psa_96:11; 1Ch_16:32), and is only subject to God (Job_38:11; Psa_89:10). The countless inhabitants of the sea (Jam_3:7, Rev_8:8 sq.) are given to men for food (Gen_9:2 sq.),but the people of God may only eat those which are legally clean (Lev_11:9 sq.). On the coasts of the sea (Heb. samah', שָׂמָה) lie great lands; and the sand of the sea (חוֹל; Gr. ἄμμος) is proverbial for multitude (Gen_22:17; Jos_11:4; 2Sa_17:11; Job_29:18; Hos_1:10; 1Ma_11:1; Rev_20:8, etc.; Homer, Iliad, 9:885; Callim. Dish. p. 252; Ovid, Trist. 4:1, 55; Ars Am. i, 254. Comp. Pindar, Olymp. ii, 178; Calpurn. ii, 72. See also Gesen. Thesaur. p. 598 sq.).
It may be remarked that almost all the figures of speech taken from the sea in Scripture refer either to its power or its danger, and among the woes threatened in punishment of disobedience, one may be remarked as significant of the dread of the sea entertained by a non-seafaring people, the being brought back into Egypt "in ships" (Deu_28:68). The national feeling on this subject may be contrasted with that of the Greeks in reference to the sea. No mention of the tide is found in Scripture.
The above Heb. word, יָם, yam, is sometimes connected with תְּהוֹן, tehom (ἄβυσσος, abyssus, "the deep," Gen_1:2; Jon_2:5). It also means the west (Gesen. Thesaur. p. 360, 598). When used for the sea, it very often, but not always, takes the article. Other words for the sea (in the A.V. "deep") are: מְצוּלָה, metsulah, or מְצוֹלָה, metsolah (only in the plural), or צוּלָה, tsulah simply (ἄβυσσος, βάθος, abyssus, profundum); מַבּוּל, mabbul (κατακλυσμός, diluvium, "water-flood," Psa_29:10).. Smaller pools were distinguished into אֲגָם, Ogdm, a natural pool or pond (evil, 35; Psa_114:8; Isa_35:7; Isa_41:18, etc.), and בְּרֵכָה, berekah, the same as the Arabic birkeh; an artificial pool or reservoir (2Sa_2:13; 2Sa_4:12; Nah_2:9).
The following are the applications Of the term yam in Scripture:
1. The "gathering of the waters" (yammin), encore-passing the land, or what we call in a more or less deft-nite sense "the Ocean." In this sense the term is used in Gen_1:2; Gen_1:10, and elsewhere, as Deu_30:13; 1Ki_10:22; Psa_24:2; Job_26:8; Job_26:12; Job_38:8; see Homer, Iliad, 14:301, 302; Hesiod, Theog. 107, 109; and 2Pe_3:5.
2. The word is used, with the article, of some definite part of the great circumambient water, viz.:
(a.) Of the Mediterranean Sea, called the "hinder" (אַחֲרוֹן), the "western," and the "utmost" sea (Deu_11:24; Deu_34:2; Joe_2:20); "sea of the Philistines" (Exo_23:31); "the great sea" (Num_34:6-7; Jos_15:47); "the sea" (Gen_49:13; Psa_80:11; evil, 23; 1Ki_4:20, etc.). SEE MEDITERRANEAN.
(b.) Also frequently of the Red Sea (Exo_15:4; Jos_24:6), or one of its gulfs (Num_11:31; Isa_11:15), and perhaps (1Ki_10:22) the sea traversed by Solomon's fleet. SEE RED SEA.
The place "where two seas met" (τόπος διθάλασσος, Act_27:41) is explained by Conybeare and Howson as a place where the island Salmonetta, off the coast of Malta, in St. Paurs Bay, so intercepts the passage from the sea without to the bay within as to give the appearance of two seas, just as Strabo represents the appearance of the entrance from the Bosphorus into the Euxine; but it seems quite as likely that by the "place of the double sea" is meant one where two currents, caused by the intervention of the island, met and produced an eddy, which made it desirable at once to ground the ship (Conybeare and Howson, 5, 423; Strabo, ii, 124).
3. The term is also applied to the great internal lakes of Palestine, whether fresh or salt; e.g.
(a.) The Sea of Chinnereth, יַם כִּנֶּרֶת(Num_34:11), called in the New Test. "the Sea of Galilee" (Mat_4:18), the "Sea of Tiberias" (Joh_21:1), and "the sea (or lake) of Gennesareth" (Mat_14:34; Mar_6:53; Luk_5:17), which last is but a variation of the Hebrew name. SEE GALILEE, SEA OF.
(b.) The Dead Sea, called in Scripture the Salt Sea, יָם הָמֶּלַח(Gen_14:3), the Sea of the Plain, or the Arabah, יָם חָעֲרָבָה(Deu_4:40), and the Eastern Sea, הַיָּם חַקַּדְמֹנִי(Joe_2:20; Eze_47:18; Zec_14:8). It is not named or alluded to in the New Test. It is called by Josephus (War, iii, 10, 7) λίμνη Ασφαλτίτης, by which name, or in the Latin form of Lacus Asphaltites, it was known to the classical writers. SEE SALT SEA.
(c.) The Lake Merom is named once only in Scripture, where it is called
מֵי מְרוֹם, waters of Merom (Jos_11:5; Jos_11:7). By Josephus it is called Semechonitis (Σεμεχωνίτις, Ant. v, 5, 1), and at present bears the name of Huleh: this is the uppermost and smallest of the three lakes on the Jordan. SEE MEROM.
4. The term yam, like the Arabic bahr, is also applied to great rivers, as the Nile (Isa_19:5; Amo_8:8, A.V. "flood ;" Nah_3:8; Eze_32:2) and the Euphrates (Jer_51:36). See Stanley, Syr. and Pal. App. p. 533; Hackett, Illust. of Script, p. 119.
5. Finally, the great copper (נְחשֶׁת) or molten (מוּצָק) laver, which stood in the court of Solomon's Temple, is called a yam (1Ki_7:23-44; 2Ki_16:17, etc.). SEE BRAZEN SEA; SEE LAVER
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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